They Slept on the Wind
© 2023 Jb McNally

I heard that you left today
I struggle for the words to say
Memory is taking me back
To the summer of eighty-three

On the rising trail to Jenny Lake
Up to the canyons that the glaciers made
Back to that enchanted place
Where the spirits sleep on the wind

They slept on the wind
With the moon on the rise
A sanctuary borne across the sky

They felt all that nature sees
Oh how it must be
To see the way the world looked through their eyes

Living in a smaller town
You hear the echoes calling down
Coming from humble means
Nothin’s taller than a young man’s dreams

My friend, we made a pact that day
To take some time and break away
Spend some time 
With the voices of the timberline

Where they sleep on the wind
With the moon on the rise
Their voices soar above the Teton skies

They felt all that nature sees
Oh how it must be
To see the way the world looked through their eyes

Storm clouds below rolled by
They flickered like fireflies
The mountain willows
Embraced us as one of their own

The forest and crystal sky
Reflected inside our eyes
The ancient voices up there
I still hear them calling us home

Where they sleep on the wind
With the moon on the rise
Reaching up I swear you touch the sky

They felt all that nature sees
Oh how it must be
To see the way the world looked through their eyes

Some nights inside my dreams
The vision comes back to me
I’m back on that winding trail
Through the twisted yellow pines

It’s the summer of eighty-three
And I know right where you’ll be
In the mountain’s embrace
Where you’re sleeping on the wind